


Hermione, Sakura, and Rukia's Guide Through Three Gender-Flips

by Bluebell_Flame_Echo



Series: A Tale of Three Gender-Flips [1]
Category: Bleach, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Crossover, Female Harry Potter, Female Kurosaki Ichigo, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Metafiction, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluebell_Flame_Echo/pseuds/Bluebell_Flame_Echo
Summary: Hermione, Sakura, and Rukia guide you through gender-flipping the main male characters of each of their separate stories.Super meta.  Meant to be funny.  Doubles as a nifty little template for how to gender-flip a character and a bit of an explanation for why any author would gender-flip in the first place.This is a meta crossover story, but it is a oneshot that will lead into three separate, real-deal, not-crossover fem stories.  If you're interested, read on.





	Hermione, Sakura, and Rukia's Guide Through Three Gender-Flips

The three boys blinked their eyes open and stood groggily, suddenly unsure of where they were. Kurosaki Ichigo, Uzumaki Naruto, and Harry Potter stood side by side, staring at Hermione Granger, Haruno Sakura, and Kuchiki Rukia. They were all floating in a blank, black space.

“Hey! What’s going on?!” Naruto demanded, leaning forward.

“Yeah, and where the hell are we?” Ichigo frowned, looking around. “This isn’t a soul room.”

“Hermione, has something happened? Is it - is it Voldemort?” said Harry intently, eyes glittering with focus. “Some sort of Dark magic?”

“No, Harry, it is not,” said Hermione matter of factly. “We have been enlisted by the author to do a little social experiment with all of you.”

“... Social… experiment?” said Ichigo uneasily.

“What kind of experiment?!” Naruto was always loud, but this was the somewhat nervous kind of loud.

“How do we know these are the real Sakura, Hermione, and Rukia?” Harry demanded. “I’m still going with Dark magic.”

The girls sighed and looked at one another. “She told us it might have to come to this,” Rukia pointed out.

Sakura growled. “Alright,” she muttered. “Look, Naruto, I’ll prove it’s me by telling you something not strictly ‘in-text.’ We’re both on Kakashi-sensei’s Team Seven, right? Well, you name all your plants, and you once gave a plant named Mr Ukki to Kakashi-sensei as a present when you were a Genin. He still has it.”

Naruto blushed deep red as Harry stared and Ichigo snickered. “Aww,” said Ichigo with heavy layers of sarcasm.

“And I can tell you that you sometimes still take baths with your sisters Japanese-family style,” said Rukia to Ichigo with sudden severity. 

This time it was Naruto’s turn to laugh. Harry put his head in his hand.

“Rukia!” Ichigo hissed.

“What? You should have tried acting mature,” said Rukia breezily, waving a hand.

“You little midget -!” Ichigo growled.

“What did you call me?” Rukia suddenly looked up, her voice deep, her expression entirely deadly and a ferocious light in her eyes.

Ichigo wasn’t the only boy in the room who felt a thrill of primal fear go up his spine. “Um - nothing.”

“Damn,” Naruto muttered, “she’s scarier than Sakura-chan - OW!” Sakura had clapped him over the back of the head in irritation.

“Kind of just proving his point,” Harry pointed out. Then Sakura raised a fist and came at him and he backed up quickly, hands up in the gesture for surrender. “Whoa - okay, okay, okay -”

Hermione stepped calmly in front of Harry. “Girls,” she huffed, “we do have to try to be the mature ones about this. This is going to be very hard for them.”

Sakura sighed and relaxed. “True,” she admitted.

“What’s going to be hard for us?” said Ichigo.

“The experiment.”

“It’s going to be painful?!”

“Not physically,” said Rukia cryptically.

“Look, what’s going on?!” Ichigo grabbed Rukia by the scruff of her shirt. Rukia seemed unfazed. 

“Hey! Don’t grab a girl who’s your friend!” Naruto got indignantly between them as Rukia paused in honest surprise.

“See?” she said, recovering. “He knows how to treat me nicely.”

“What the hell changes just because she’s a girl?” Ichigo asked, calmer and honestly bewildered.

“That’s refreshingly unsexist of you!” said Hermione brightly.

“Er - thanks?” said Ichigo, puzzled.

“Look, can we just get to the point?” said Harry, a bit forcefully. “What’s going on? Let’s start with the original question: Where are we?”

“Ah, good. Scene setting,” said Rukia smoothly. “We have been sent by the author to do a little social experiment. It’s easy to see why.”

“We’re not only the main female characters, but we’re the ‘explainer’ characters,” said Sakura in her teacher’s voice, raising a finger. “We spend a good part of each of our stories explaining to everyone else exactly what’s going on at a factual level. Therefore, we will be your guides through this experiment.”

“And it won’t hurt,” Hermione promised. “As we said, it’s a social experiment, not a physical one where you’re strapped to a lab table.” The boys relaxed somewhat.

“That’s still not comforting,” Ichigo admitted. “The Stanford Prison Experiment was a social experiment, too.” Harry chuckled. Naruto just looked confused.

The girls looked surprised and impressed.

“What?!” Ichigo demanded. “I’m not actually as stupid as I act!”

“I’m remembering that for later,” said Rukia with a smile. “But no, Ichigo. This is not the Stanford Prison Experiment or anything like it. No one’s being locked up, you’re not being forced to pretend-torture anyone. Nothing so dark.

“But first, some scene-setting. This story is meta - meaning we understand we are constructs in a story and are aware of the presence of fanfiction about us. We are in a fanfiction right now and that subject is what we’ll be talking about today - fanfiction hypotheticals.

“This story is also meta in a larger sense. We know everything about each other’s worlds and about the real world. We also know things about our own stories that in canon we couldn’t possibly know. All for the purposes of the experiment, of course,” Rukia finished neatly.

“Our current ages and places in our storylines are indeterminate,” Hermione continued. “We are almost floating above our stories in a sense, a part of them but looking down on them.

“Ichigo and Naruto are based solely in their story’s manga - not in the anime. Harry is based solely in our story’s books - not in the movies. It will be this way for the rest of the series that will sprout out of this thought exercise.

“All stories for this series, including this story, will exist in a floating timeline. There are a few caveats. The wizarding world will carry no modern technology, though they will have many magical replacements including but not limited to those already established. The Elemental Countries will have no modern transportation or weaponry. Neither will the Soul Society, by the way.”

“As for our setting? Let’s do a classroom for teaching purposes,” said Sakura smoothly. “We are also all familiar with a classroom. Ichigo goes to Karakura 1st High School, Naruto has been to the Konoha Ninja Academy, and Harry goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All three of us were also with the main characters at some point during that class time.

“And for the purposes of this story, let’s arrange all the desks in a circle, with a wide space in the middle. No talking about tree hugging or gushy emotions! There is a very practical reason why the desks are being set up like this,” she added sternly, hands on her hips, when Ichigo went to make a comment.

“Er - right,” he said uncertainly. Like the other boys, he was more uncomfortable than he’d like to admit.

Around them from the vast black space, a classroom appeared. It was a circle of school desks with a wide space in the middle, a blackboard up at the front. Windows on the left side leaked sunlight onto the space. They could see green trees rustling out the window.

“Are those real?” Harry wondered, pointing.

“Only for the purposes of this story,” Hermione assured him.

“My head hurts,” Naruto announced.

“You’ll get used to it. Just take a seat,” said Rukia. “It’ll be easier to grasp what’s going on once we get into the meat of the story.”

So they all sat in a circle at the desks, slowly and a little uneasily in the confused boys’ cases. There was just the right number of seats for all of them.

“Today,” said Hermione, “we’ll be talking about gender-flipping fanfiction, using you three as our examples.”

“You’re going to turn us into girls?!” Ichigo yelped.

“Ha! Can I be hot?!” said Naruto crassly, grinning.

There was a silence from Harry. They all turned to him. “What?” he said, shrugging, resigned. “I found out I’ve secretly been a Dark magical artefact my entire life. It’s not exactly the weirdest thing that’s happened to me.”

“Yes,” said Rukia. “And as we said, it doesn’t hurt. In fact, it’ll feel quite natural once it’s happened to you, for reasons we’re about to explain.”

“More to the point, we’re trying to do three good gender-flips,” Sakura added. “We’re going to show three examples of what exactly gender-flipping is actually all about and how to do one correctly. We’re going to make you three into the best gender-flipped characters you can be.”

“Lovely,” said Ichigo and Harry as one.

“Shut up,” said Rukia.

Naruto was still snickering to himself.

Sakura sighed. “So, let’s start with what gender-flipping is,” she said. “Gender-flipping is not a boy suddenly turning into a girl. In other words, when we transform you, you will not become Ichigo, for example, with boobs. You will become someone who was always a girl, who has never been anything but a girl. That’s a gender-flipped character.”

“And since you’ve always been a girl,” said Rukia, “we will have to build you from the ground up. Gender-flipping is more complicated than a boy suddenly turning into a girl in fanfiction, because most of the differences don’t happen written on the page. They happen before the first page and unless the author wants to suddenly write an entire book just to outline those differences, the reader never sees them. A new character essentially has to be created from scratch, based off of the template of an old male character but with female experiences. Most gender difference comes down to a difference in experiences. So you will have a totally different name and appearance, different background experiences, and even because of those different background experiences - personality differences.”

“You’ll start as a blank space,” said Hermione. “And we’ll recreate you from scratch. As we make up more things about you, those things will become embedded into your memory bank, because henceforth for the purposes of this series, those things have always been there.”

“We will do this for all three of you,” Rukia repeated, “looking only at what would logically be different in a certain order. We will all together talk ourselves through creating three brand-new fem characters.”

“There are many reasons to gender-flip a character,” Sakura added, “but here are the author’s reasons. A manifesto of sorts that we got from her directly. First, because there aren’t enough terribly important female characters in fiction. So the author wanted to take the main characters from three of her favorite series, and see how the stories would have changed if those characters had been women.”

“That brings us to point two,” said Rukia, “which is that she was curious to see what would be different in each story if the main character was female from the beginning. Any stories spawning from this one are meant to explore differences and make it up as the author goes along. Therefore, pairings will not be decided beforehand, and may even be done in typical teenage dating-around style. So another reason is intellectual curiosity, which when you think about it drives almost all fanfiction.”

“She also wanted to see three kickass female main characters, and thought she might be able to identify better with three female characters who have all the chips stacked against them,” Hermione finished neatly. “She wants these characters to be relatable, real people, with flaws and good points, and not annoying.”

“For the purposes of this story,” Rukia added, “it’s also important to note that there is a difference between sex and gender. Sex is someone’s biological identification. Gender is their mental identification. Someone could be a girl and feel like a boy, or vice versa. When someone’s gender doesn’t align with their sex, those people are called transgender. When someone’s gender aligns with their sex, those people are called cisgender. 

“For the purposes of this story, we’re going to assume these three women are cisgender. While a transgender Harry Potter would be fascinating, for example, that’s someone else’s series, not this one. So when we say gender-flip, we mean both the sex and the gender are flipped at the same time. These women will be female both inside and out - just as it at least seems canonically that these three boys are also cisgender.”

“Two hundred percent cisgender,” said Naruto hurriedly.

“Naruto is somewhat sexist and homophobic,” said Sakura matter of factly, when Rukia frowned.

“... Hm. We’ll see if that stays,” said Rukia at last. Hermione giggled.

“Are you guys always this cryptic?” Naruto demanded. “And why is she laughing?!” Hermione giggled harder.

“Why don’t we do Naruto first?” said Sakura with an evil little smirk. “He’s being kind of obnoxious. I’ve always thought as a girl he would be somewhat less annoying.”

“Hey!”

“It’s your own damn fault, genius,” Ichigo muttered.

“Ichigo! You’re next,” Rukia mandated.

“What? Why?!” he yelped, sitting up.

“Because you keep being sarcastic and I can feel your macho discomfort emanating across the room from here, that’s why.”

“Harry’s last,” Hermione sighed. “He just seems very confused. I think the poor boy needs some time to adjust.”

“So do I!” Ichigo snapped, his face red, as Harry’s eyebrows rose. “Like the rest of my life!”

“It’ll feel totally normal once it happens,” Hermione insisted.

“Again, Hermione,” said Harry, “still not comforting.”

-

“So, Naruto,” Sakura mandated, pointing, “stand in the middle of the circle.”

“That makes it even more embarrassing! This is a horrible idea!” Naruto insisted.

“Naruto,” said Sakura threateningly, “do I have to drag you by the ear?”

Naruto, shoulders slumped and stance defensive, walked over reluctantly, scowling, and stood in the middle of the circle. All eyes were on him. “Now what?” he muttered.

“We won’t go until you’re ready,” Rukia promised.

“Ok -”

“GO!”

Hermione winced, but pulled a lever hidden by her seat. Naruto, caught unawares, suddenly disappeared.

“It’s better if you’re not expecting it,” Rukia explained in response to Ichigo and Harry’s stares. “We’ll have to come up with something more creative to distract you two.”

“... I feel funny,” came Naruto’s voice from the center of the circle.

“He’s still there?” Harry stated in utter disbelief. 

“Of course he’s still there,” said Hermione briskly, rolling up her sleeves both physically and mentally. “He’s just not a she with a body yet. So first, we decide on a name and appearance. Pretty basic.”

“Don’t we already have an appearance?” Naruto questioned. “I’ve done the Sexy Transformation like a hundred times!”

“Yeah,” said Sakura, rolling her eyes, “you turn into a highly idealized, overtly sexualized sex bot. Let’s go with something a little more nuanced. Trust me, as a girl you’ll be thanking me later.”

“Also pigtails look crazy stupid on grown women,” said Rukia frankly.

“Agreed,” said Hermione. “So - we choose a name and an appearance and then they all happen as one. Let’s start with name.”

“Naruko?” Naruto’s voice suggested. “It’s a female Japanese name one letter away from Naruto.”

“Yes, but it refers to ringing bells instead of a cute little food that decorates ramen,” Rukia pointed out. “What kind of a message would that be sending? Your name has to mean something.”

“Well, I want it to be cute!” Naruto mandated.

The girls looked at each other and sighed. “Fine,” said Sakura. “A cute name would fit a female Naruto anyway. So what cute Japanese food names for women can we think of?”

“What about Momoka?” Ichigo suggested. “My sister’s name, Karin, means pear blossom. Well Momoka means peach blossom.”

“It would go with her coloring,” Sakura admitted. “And it is a cute food name. Jiraiya could have been looking at a piece of fruit and decided to make his main character a female instead of a male. His one, early act of not buying into sexism to make money.”

“Would that mean Uzumaki Momoka would like peaches, and fruity snacks, jams, tarts, and desserts, instead of ramen?” said Rukia suddenly.

“Hey! You want to take away my ramen -?!”

“Definitely,” said Sakura eagerly. “She could munch on fruit snacks instead of pigging down on ramen. Really, when you think about it, that’s not any healthier - so it’s not like Momoka would suddenly be this amazingly better person.”

“So what does Uzumaki Momoka look like?” Hermione asked thoughtfully. “Logically, from what male Naruto looks like?”

“Naruto is small, so Momoka would be, too,” said Sakura thoughtfully (ignoring Naruto’s, “Hey!"). “But Naruto has a much broader, stronger, more muscular form than Sasuke-kun’s. Sasuke-kun’s is a bit thinner and more lithe. So…?”

“So she would be small, but curvy?” Rukia suggested.

“Exactly!” said Sakura, pleased.

“One thing we should get out of the way right now,” Hermione added. “All three of these boys have messy hair. That is because messy hair is a trope - a fiery main male character stereotype. Women more typically either have curls or straight hair. Since Harry is white, Ichigo is Asian, and Naruto is one of the two, let’s just say all three of these girls have straight hair. That’s not unrealistic. One could just name their hair color and have the straightness taken for granted, as painful as that is to say for someone who has curls that are explicitly referenced in the text.”

“Similarly, we won’t be dealing with skin color and we won’t be explicitly tying ourselves into one sexual orientation,” Rukia added. “Use your imagination.”

“So. Uzumaki Momoka has a small, curvy body and straight hair. Her coloring would be the same, I think. Blonde hair, blue eyes.”

“Don’t forget the Kyuubi markings,” Rukia added. “Whisker cheek markings, unusually sharp incisor teeth.”

“Oh, and her face shape would be round,” Sakura added. “Curvy, you know, like Naruto’s. For some reason I’m picturing dimples. As a matter of fact, she’d be kind of cute and sweet looking,” she added thoughtfully.

“Okay. Let’s do this!” Hermione pulled the lever again - and Uzumaki Momoka appeared just as described. She was entirely without fashion trend of any kind and completely naked, with long, plain hair. She saw the boys and shrieked. 

The boys, who had been listening in morbid fascination, swore and covered their eyes.

“Fuck! Shit!”

Hermione walked over and sympathetically put a jacket around Momoka to cover her nudity. Momoka sighed in relief as she clutched the jacket around herself.

“Boys,” said Rukia in dry amusement. Sakura was blushing. “You can look now.”

Ichigo and Harry looked around tentatively, then sighed in relief.

“Now we have to figure out Momoka’s internal workings, because right now she doesn’t have any memories or know anything about herself,” said Hermione.

“Sure I do! I’m Uzumaki Momoka! I… I… um…” Momoka trailed off in consternation.

“Exactly,” said Hermione, sitting back down. “So. What would be different about Momoka as a girl?”

“Hinata-chan would be different!” said Momoka suddenly. “I saved Hinata-chan from some bullies when we were kids! But since she developed a crush, she was too shy to talk to me! If I were a girl and she had no crush… what if she came up and talked to me? What if we became friends?”

“That would make Hinata more calm and fiery and self confident, even if she didn’t lose her trademark poise and quiet kindness, so she could have won over her clan years before Momoka even met them. That could also lead to a difference in Momoka’s abilities,” Rukia added. “Not only would Momoka be excellent at taijutsu, having sparred against a Jyuuken user for years… but Hinata has access to the clan archives. She could take out the Uzumaki clan scrolls and bring them to Momoka.”

“The Uzumaki are experts at sealing,” said Sakura thoughtfully. “Typically there are six points to sealing. The first is basic: academic seal study and understanding.”

“That would have an unintended side effect: Momoka might be smarter and better academically,” Hermione added. “Maybe not a genius by any means… but not dumb the way Naruto is.”

Sakura nodded. “There are five other points to sealing: Seal trap tags. Seal barrier shields. Sealing chains. Containment-release seals - used in combat on the palms to suck up and redirect attacks. Chakra changing seals. And a true seal-mistress could slap a seal on someone just by touching them - like Orochimaru did in the Forest of Death.” She shuddered. “From someone who is good at taijutsu… like Naruto’s mother was… having someone who can slap a chakra changing seal on you just by touching you is like dealing with a Jyuuken user.”

“Let’s not forget the Uzumaki abilities Karin demonstrated,” Rukia added. “She utilized the natural Uzumaki massive chakra coils. She could heal herself or others with floods of chakra, an ability we know Naruto also demonstrated unconsciously at times himself - everyone just thought it was the Kyuubi.”

“Oh! And the Mind’s Eye of Kagura,” Hermione said brightly. “She threw her chakra out around her in such a wide net that she could see and sense everything around her - almost like a doujutsu. This huge combination of abilities is what made the Uzumaki so terrifying.”

“But wait.” Ichigo raised a hand. “I can’t believe this is coming from me… but wouldn’t that make Momoka an overpowered Mary Sue?”

“It is true that we don’t want a Mary Sue overpowered character,” Rukia admitted. 

“But I don’t think I would be a Mary Sue,” said Momoka suddenly. “I couldn’t do a single ninjutsu outside the Academy standard. My chakra control would still suck. And while I could sense genjutsu better with my Mind’s Eye, I wouldn’t be able to perform a genjutsu to save my life. I also wouldn’t be a genius… I might even be just as oblivious as I was as Naruto… I just wouldn’t be an idiot. That’s been established, too.”

“It’s also true that we’re not exactly giving her a sudden barrage of ten thousand Elemental ninjutsu and a Summoning technique thrown in for good measure. The rest of her growth throughout the series should be shown and believable,” said Sakura. “We’re just giving her a strong start. She’s actually less powerful right now than Kushina was - in part because she starts out younger than Kushina.”

“I like it,” said Hermione. “But this is a good teaching moment. It is true that we don’t want a perfect, Mary Sue type character. A good rule of thumb is that for every good point, there should be a balancing flaw. So what downside could there be to Momoka being more powerful?”

“What if she’s like Sasuke-kun?” said Sakura suddenly. “What if she’s stubborn and arrogant, overreaches herself and thinks she can do more than she can?”

“With Naruto’s reckless impulsiveness, that might be especially deadly,” said Rukia. “Momoka would just throw herself into things screw the consequences. And she’d be just smart enough to justify to herself being able to get away with it.”

“Okay, so we have an early friendship with Hinata, a smart but oblivious girl, and a power balanced by a proud, stubborn, arrogant recklessness,” said Rukia. “What else?”

“Well… the reason Naruto was an obnoxious prankster was to get himself noticed…” Harry had finally spoken thoughtfully and everyone turned to him in surprise. “So what if Momoka tried to get herself noticed in a different way? I mean, we talk about stereotypes. Naruto bought into the obnoxious class clown stereotype to get himself noticed. But that’s mostly a guy stereotype, isn’t it?”

“I see what you mean,” said Rukia with eager thoughtfulness. “Think of The Breakfast Club. The nerd was the odd one out - arguably. Otherwise, you had the jock and the princess. Then you had the troublemaker…”

“And the weird girl,” said everyone as one.

“It’s all about perception,” Hermione whispered, eyes widening. “What roles are available to women in fiction? That affects a lot.”

“So, what, she’s suddenly going to get tattoos, dye her hair a hundred different colors, wear lots of glitter, and play the Manic Pixie Dream Girl?” said Sakura skeptically. “Aren’t we trying to make her likable?”

“But it would be interesting to see inside the Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” Ichigo argued. “To see it as a front to hide someone who is in pain and self conscious.”

“I still think she’d be annoying - all twee and artsy,” said Sakura.

“I actually agree,” Rukia admitted. “And it was my idea. Way too much Mary Sue.”

“I have an idea,” said Hermione. “Sometimes, when you’re stuck, use another character or actress as a template. We… don’t get along… but what about Luna? She would certainly fit ‘smart but oblivious.’ And people do like her. What if we made Momoka a little more like Luna?”

“It has potential,” said Rukia intently, “but we would have to make her a different character. She couldn’t just be a carbon copy of Luna.”

“What about Naruto’s trademark energy?” Harry suggested. “I highly doubt that would change from male to female.”

“Yeah, and his sunniness wouldn’t change either,” Sakura pointed out. “So what if she’s a much bubblier and more eager, sunnier version of Luna? But with the same smart obliviousness? And a side helping of stubborn, proud arrogance? Luna always had a little bit of that, anyway, it just didn’t appear very often. And eccentricity certainly allows for stubborn, proud arrogance.”

“We’re starting to get a character,” said Rukia eagerly. “Another thing that wouldn’t change? Fem Naruto's appetite. She’d totally be a tiny, cute little foodie. So she would be constantly carrying a fruit snack with her.”

“What about hobbies?” said Hermione. 

“Naruto is practical but not as into fashion and looking trendy or sophisticated, not as into being formal. That wouldn’t change. His parents’ combination of red and yellow making orange wouldn’t change either. And, well, downside there would be less of a sense of humor without the prankster aspect. But upside, Naruto likes gardening,” said Sakura. “I think that would be heightened by being a girl - activities like gardening are encouraged in women. She could have her own house and its accompanying garden! The Hokage and the council are paying anyway! It’s not much of a stretch.”

“Why does Naruto like gardening, though?” Hermione urged. “What’s behind it?”

“When he was a kid, he liked to know that living things needed him,” said Momoka innocently. “That’s why he named all the plants.”

Somberness passed around the room.

“... Well,” said Ichigo awkwardly at last, “what about pets?”

“Pets!” said Rukia suddenly, pointing. “Yes!”

“Who would take care of them on missions?” Sakura wondered.

“Grandpa Hokage or later Iruka-sensei,” Momoka offered. “Remember that creepy moment when Grandpa Hokage lets Kakashi into Naruto’s home when Naruto’s not there? Obviously he already has a key. I mean, who took care of Naruto’s plants while he was away?”

“And Naruto’s all about rescue, so they could be rescue animals,” Sakura offered. “Momoka! Dog or cat?”

“... Both,” she decided. “One of each!”

“So Momoka’s really into nature and helping animals and plants,” said Sakura. “Which is balanced out by the fact that she’s not as mischievous and funny.”

“I can’t see the prejudice against her or her alone status changing,” said Rukia, troubled. “Though prejudiced-against women tend to experience more sexual harassment than prejudiced-against men. So that could play a factor?”

“Yeah, and she’d still want to be Hokage, too, but in her youth the position has never been held by a woman!” said Sakura suddenly. “So that means -”

Hermione and Sakura grinned at each other. “Ecofeminist,” they said as one. “Bad side,” Hermione added, “that would make her both far-out and opinionated.”

“So,” said Momoka, summarizing, “my best friend is a calmer and more confident but still quiet and kind Hinata, I want to be Hokage, and I’m alone and prejudiced against. I have taijutsu and Uzumaki clan abilities, but my chakra control sucks and I can’t perform genjutsu. I’m fairly smart, but not a genius. I’m weird and eccentric, but bubbly and sunny, kind and smart, with lots of energy. I’m also totally oblivious, very far out there, an opinionated ecofeminist, and arrogant and proud and reckless. I take a kunoichi’s practical stance toward fashion and I don’t care about being fancy or fashionable, but I love orange. I have no sense of formality. I love animals and gardening, all of nature, and I’m a total foodie who’s always carrying around and munching on fruit snacks.

“Yes, I can see it now,” she continued, excited, as it all came together in her mind and the new memory and personality started appearing inside her. “Of course! Of course I’m me! Hinata-chan and I flower press together using the flowers in my garden! I have crystals hanging from my bedroom window! I always eat three big helpings at restaurants! People sometimes have to tell me I have jam and crumbs on my mouth! I love bright colors! I go on indignant feminist rants and organize eco sit-downs no one else goes to! I think I’m always right! I’m a total space cadet! I love taking care of other people! I’m told I’m sometimes socially off-base from everyone else! I love smiling but I have way too much eccentric energy! I call everyone by their first names like I’m already friends with them! I draw seals on myself and then forget that they’re there! I’m always wearing dangling animal-shaped earrings! I can talk and talk for hours! I get cold and frigid when I’m angry or my pride or eccentric beliefs are stepped on!

“Of course I’m me! I’m Uzumaki Momoka!”

Then, in a burst of bright light, Momoka was standing there, fully formed. She wore a weirdly shaped, asymmetrical but practical orange kunoichi dress. Her hair was in a bun with one long piece of hair draping down her back, and there were dangling animal shaped earrings in her ears. In addition to a weapons pouch, attached to her legs were sealing scrolls. She was smiling, hand on her hip.

“That’s the Happening,” said Hermione in satisfaction, as Ichigo and Harry stared. “That’s what we call it when a character goes from a bunch of traits to a fully formed human being. When the author can suddenly picture the character, get inside their head, and write them like they’re a real person.

“The Happening occurs when a character starts speaking to the author - and, hopefully, to the reader.”

Rukia’s eyes gleamed as she smirked. “Alright, Ichigo.” Ichigo swallowed. “You’re next.”

-

Ichigo stood, uncertain and defensive as Naruto had been, in the center of the circle. “I don’t like this,” he stated for the last time. What if his female character came out shitty? Then he sighed. “Is this the part where you try to distract me with -?”

Hermione pulled the lever and Ichigo disappeared.

“Oi!” his voice said in irritation. Then: “Stop snickering, Rukia!” This time the tone was colored with embarrassment. Rukia dissolved into gales of laughter.

“So,” said Hermione in a loud, high-handed voice, trying to be the mature one (for even Sakura was smirking and Momoka had let out a loud, surprised, delighted shout of laughter). “What should his name be? Rukia, don’t suggest anything horrible,” she said when Rukia made to speak.

Rukia fell silent.

“Don’t I already have a gender-neutral name?” Ichigo suggested. “Why don’t we just use that?”

“Yes, but how creative would that be?” said Hermione. “We need something that signifies you as your own character.”

“Different fruit name?” Sakura suggested.

“Nah, that’s my thing,” said Momoka. “Hey, isn’t the fact that Ichigo’s name means ‘guardian’ supposed to be a really important part of his character?” she said, bright and airy. “Why don’t we choose a female name that means ‘strong’ or ‘guardian’ or ‘protector’? What?!” she said indignantly when they all stared at her. “Sometimes I have good ideas!”

“Yeah, sorry, Momoka. Guess I’m still used to thinking of you as Naruto,” Sakura admitted.

“Apology accepted,” said Momoka, though she was still slightly huffy and stiff from residual irritation.

“So what female names mean strong, guardian, or protector?” said Rukia thoughtfully, finally taking the task seriously. “Well… it’s not perfect, but Aneko means older sister.”

“And Kana means demigod,” Sakura added. “Kanako would be child demigod.”

“It must be hard,” Harry said, “finding a female Japanese name that indicates strength and protectiveness.”

“Exactly,” Hermione added seriously. “Usually female Japanese names mean things like beautiful or graceful, serene or wise, obedient, or they have something to do with nature.”

“Mayumi is ‘true blow’,” said Momoka suddenly, interested and thoughtful. “And not the most out of character sounding name on planet earth,” she added, musing. “Kaida is ‘little dragon’...”

“Mine!” Sakura suddenly shouted in triumph, then covered her mouth with her hand as everyone stared at her.

“Pronounced Mee-neh,” said Hermione, nodding slowly. “It means ‘mountain peak’ but also ‘resolute protector.’ Think of a resolute protector climbing a mountain. Kurosaki Mine. What do we think?”

“I like it,” Rukia decided.

“But both my sisters have fruit names,” said Ichigo in confusion. “Yuzu means citrus and Ichigo means strawberry while Karin means pear blossom.”

“Yeah, but the fruit names could conceivably just be a twin thing in a fem Ichigo story,” Hermione suggested.

“Think about it, Ichigo. Is it more important to you that you’re named after a piece of fruit or that you’re named after a resolute protector?” said Rukia skeptically.

“... Resolute protector,” Ichigo admitted. “Yeah. Mine’s a fine name.”

“Momoka and Mine. I like our taste in naming,” Momoka declared.

“Now we need an appearance.” As usual, Hermione took the lead. “So what should our fem Ichigo look like?”

“Well, he’s tall and slimmer but not skinny. So I would say a tall, willowy form,” said Rukia consideringly. “Kind of like her Mom. She’d definitely be a very tall girl, maybe with big feet. And she wouldn’t be skinny, necessarily, but she wouldn’t have huge, obvious curves either. And like Ichigo, her face would be a heart shape.”

“The rest should be the same. Orange hair, moon shaped brown eyes,” Sakura decided. “It’s switched around with Ichigo: the naming was hard, but the appearance is pretty easy.”

“Momoka, Kurosaki Mine is on the way and she’s going to need the jacket,” said Hermione, determined. Momoka jumped and scampered over, holding the jacket at ready. Hermione pulled the lever and Kurosaki Mine appeared, again naked and entirely without fashion and with long, plain hair. Momoka immediately wrapped her in the jacket.

“Thanks,” Mine said gratefully, smiling. Momoka beamed and saluted before marching, faux soldier-like, back to her seat.

“So how is Mine different from Ichigo?” Hermione asked the group. “What are some points of personality and background separation? We need to tell her about herself.”

“Well, some things would be the same. With a name like protector, Mine would still go to karate. Since she’s in karate, Tatsuki probably wouldn’t treat her as an Orihime replacement. Since Masaki died on the way home from karate class, Masaki would still die,” said Rukia. “Much of Ichigo’s friendships would remain intact, though she might be a bit closer to the girls. But she would still save Mizuiro and Keigo from bullies. She would even still be harassed over her hair color, if maybe more sexually, and thus meet Chad. Orihime’s brother dying would happen much the same way.

“But hey, here’s a major difference. Yuzu learned how to cook and clean to take her mother’s place. Yuzu and Karin often help out in the hospital as nurses, but Ichigo never has any place there because he’s a guy - to the point of Isshin actually telling him once to simply ‘stay out of the way’ during a crisis. See where I’m going with this?”

“Isshin is a big believer in gender roles,” said Hermione eagerly, nodding. “So Mine would be a nurse. And as the oldest daughter, Mine would take over as the mother figure.”

“And that brings with it a whole host of differences,” Sakura analyzed. “Mine would be more of a healing and nurturing figure. She would be more comfortable in that kind of role. She’d probably be kind of obsessed with healthy food, for example, as both a mother and a nurse.”

“What if she goes full-on into that sort of thing?” said Harry suddenly, in one of his rare moments of wisdom. “What if she gets into herbal tea, herbal healing and tinctures…?”

“Ooh, what about ASMR? That’s the newest trendy nurturing, mothering health thing,” said Rukia enthusiastically.

“This all leads up to Mine being a lot more credible than Ichigo is,” said Sakura. “So this could all have a good side and a bad side. Bad side, Mine is a lot more nagging and worrying. She also believes in things a lot easier, to the point of earnestly throwing herself into the center of them because she wants to help anything mystical. 

“But on the other hand, she’s a bit of a healing, mothery, witchy figure. She likes healthy food, herbal tea, and ASMR. She’s a good witch, so to speak.”

“On that note, one thing I’ve noticed about Ichigo is that he cares a lot about how he comes across,” Rukia added. “Ichigo is always trying to be the macho, distant, uncaring guy - as is evidenced by how he broke down when his entire class thought they saw him kissing Tatsuki.”

“So Mine would also care a lot about how she comes across, but she wouldn’t be the macho guy,” Hermione analyzed thoughtfully. 

“Exactly. Ichigo’s favorite actor is Al Pacino. He’s into that kind of demeanor. In a way, he’s just as consciously constructed as Naruto is,” said Rukia.

“So what would he be instead…?” Sakura wondered.

“Well, there are two ways you could go,” said Momoka logically. She was surprisingly good at the airy, abstract, and matter of fact. “Either she could go the typical gender roles route and swerve opposite, becoming completely girly…”

“I can’t imagine that,” Rukia admitted.

“Neither can I,” said Hermione and Sakura as one.

“Or she could become the tough punk girl in black - girly in a way, but in a tough, female punk kind of way - which would go rather well with her witchy, naggy, motherly aura,” Momoka finished, pleased.

“Yes, I can see that,” said Rukia. “Mine could be just as tough and scowling as Ichigo, a bit of a worrying nag, but a motherly witch in plaid skirts and punk black. Who knows karate. 

“Definitely a great big sister figure. I would say Karin and Yuzu really look up to her and depend on her.”

“What about zanpakuto?” Hermione led next. “How much different would that be?”

“Well, since she’s a witchy girl and not a tough Al Pacino guy, I would say her zanpakuto is less melee and more kido,” Rukia, the expert, assessed. “Zangetsu means slaying moon, right? Well the name wouldn’t have to change. But the moon supposedly controls emotions, sort of like it controls the shifting tides of the ocean…”

“So what if the zanpakuto was a kido type that changed the emotions of the opponent?” said Hermione eagerly. “Yes, that’s perfect! Then Zangetsu could have a command: Shift. Like the shifting tides of the ocean!”

“Go big or go home,” said Harry, sitting backward. “Shift like the ocean, Zangetsu. Hitsugaya has a long, weirdass chant for his zanpakuto. Why not?”

Rukia snickered but admitted, “I like it. What else would change?”

“Well, there might be a moon shaped black chain on the end of the zanpakuto. And the sword itself probably wouldn’t change from shikai to bankai: still the same small, black sword. Bankai would just include the outfit. Bankai would still provide superhuman speed. The Bankai black cloak outfit would be a bit more feminine. 

“What would the Zangetsu spirit be like as a female?”

“Whatever the hell we want. She wouldn’t take after the Quincy leader anymore. Quite frankly, we could make her a Valley Girl if we wanted to,” said Harry frankly.

“What if the zanpakuto spirit is Masaki in the black feminine cloak?” Rukia asked suddenly.

The room went dead silent. Mine blinked blank, innocent eyes.

“That would be a huge emotional weight,” was the first thing Hermione said worriedly.

“Yeah,” said Rukia, “but it would also provide a pretty damn powerful connection between zanpakuto and wielder. Zangetsu is supposed to partly reflect her Quincy side. Why not?

“And I can’t imagine the Hollow side changing much. Still vicious and eager, determined to take over. Just a female. That would make for a nice reversal of usual gender roles. Mine would be a Queen instead of a King. And her soul room would still be a rainy sideways city.”

“Okay. So we have her powers ridiculously well figured out, but let’s focus back on her,” said Hermione. “Mine. Do you have a pretty good idea of who you are? Try for a Happening.”

“Erm - okay.” Mine blinked and took a deep breath. She recited: “I’m a tough punk girl and scowling, but underneath it I have a good heart. I’m a bit of a worrier and a nag, definitely a mother or big sister figure. I’m a black-garbed witch who’s really into health and herbal remedies and has her own ASMR channel. I’m very credible and I don’t hesitate to jump into anything mystical, even when I shouldn’t - I’m very earnest in that regard.

“Yes, I’m starting to see it,” she breathed, her eyes widening. “Of course that’s always been me. I’m a vegetarian! I love punk rock! My one vice is that I’m unhealthily obsessed with coffee! I love dark, artsy social drama movies and morbid classical poetry! I always wear my hair short! I love black fishnet sleeves and plaid skirts! Despite my mystical credibility, I’m well versed in skeptical sarcasm! I’m better at support than a person might think! I believe every girl should know self defense against harassing men! I have a horribly short temper when it comes to any kind of bully! I’m sort of quiet and I have a Resting Bitch Face! I love mint flavored bubblegum!

“Of course I’m me! I’m Kurosaki Mine!”

Another burst of light and Mine stood there. On her tall, slim, willowy form was a pair of fishnet black tights and fishnet black arm sleeves. She wore a black top, a belted plaid skirt, and black combat boots. She wore dark eyeliner, a single earring, and a short head of orange hair in one great, sweeping wave over her thin, heart-shaped face. Both hands were on her hips and her stance was a strong, fierce one.

“Bitch I’m here,” she said.

“Very good,” said Hermione, smiling, as Sakura and Rukia applauded.

“Isn’t it exciting?” said Momoka enthusiastically, leaning forward. “That rush when all of a sudden it all clicks into place.”

Mine examined her for a while - Momoka kept smiling winningly - then Mine cracked a reluctant smile almost like an admittance. “Yeah,” she said warmly. “It was awesome.”

Mine took her place beside Momoka, who patted the seat next to her. Mine slung herself down in the seat, legs swung wide, hands on the seat in front of her.

“Okay, Harry,” said Hermione, turning to Harry, who looked nervous and reluctant. “Last but not least… your turn.”

-

Harry stood in the center of the circle awkwardly. “Look, just hit m -” he began, and before he’d finished Hermione had pulled the lever and he’d already disappeared.

“... Me,” he finished. “Er - thanks?”

“No problem,” said Hermione, smooth and businesslike. “So what should fem Harry’s name be, everyone?”

“Not Harriett,” said Rukia flatly, and the others nodded without argument.

“It’s the laziest name choice ever,” said Mine, blowing a bubble and popping it with a snap. “It’s also a really old-fashioned and kind of ugly name. Everyone else is too polite to say it, so I’m just going to.”

“No, you’re right,” said Momoka airily without pause.

“What about a flower?” Harry suggested. “Like with my Mum and my aunt?”

“That’s been done too many times,” said Hermione.

“Yeah,” said Rukia. “A scientist could discover a new plant on some remote, undiscovered island no one’s ever heard of. He could look it up on Google and the one positive search that would come up would be a female Harry Potter fanfic.” 

Everyone else snickered.

“But there’s something that’s more important than whose family Harry’s name takes after,” said Hermione knowingly. “Harry was named after a great-grandfather of his on his father’s side - a man that championed Muggle rights. In the atmosphere of the first Blood War, that could not have been an accident.

“So what are some Light side famous witch names that we could choose for our fem Harry?”

“Cassandra Vablatsky was a Seer,” said Rukia. “Ignatia Wildsmith invented Floo powder.”

“None of those are precisely and specifically Light, though,” said Hermione.

“Yeah,” Harry’s voice added, “and they’re all so long and complicated. I guess Cassandra could be shortened to Cassie, but Seer reminds me of Trelawney and anyway I think both me and my parents were hoping for something a bit… simpler. Like Lily and James.”

“I was thinking of Tilly Toke,” said Hermione thoughtfully. “Tilly is a nice, simple name, rather like Harry, and the original Tilly Toke once saved a large group of Muggles on holiday from a great dragon. That’s pretty Light, right? Tilly the dragon slayer, defender of Muggles.”

“I like it,” said everyone immediately as one, Harry included.

“Now, as for middle names… as delightful as Tilly Lily is, let’s not go there,” said Hermione dryly. 

“Thank you,” said Harry fervently.

“Harry’s paternal grandmother had quite a lovely name, Euphemia,” said Hermione. “So Tilly Euphemia Potter.”

“Let’s go with it,” said Harry rather quickly, as if genuinely afraid of being stuck with an awful name.

“Thank goodness it’s not you and Ginny naming the new you,” Hermione added sternly.

“Albus Severus Potter is only trumped by Renesmee Cullen,” Rukia said frankly.

Sakura giggled as they heard Harry give a noise of protest. “Alright, alright, can we just… move on?” he said, embarrassed, a wince in his voice.

“Okay. Appearance,” said Hermione.

“Well, she would be both small and slim - Harry’s small and skinny himself,” said Rukia.

“Yes, and her face would be thin, like Harry’s,” said Momoka, dreamy and bright. 

“She would have black hair and almond-shaped bright green eyes. Would her glasses be different?” Hermione asked thoughtfully.

“I would say girls probably care more about having a fashionable glasses frame style than guys,” Mine pointed out. “And because of that, they have a wider selection. Which one started the other is anyone’s guess.”

“Social constructs,” said Rukia fervently. “Yeah, they’re strange.”

“I would say she’d look good in square plastic black frames,” said Sakura thoughtfully. “Either that or cat’s eye glasses. Both would go well with a female Harry’s face shape.”

“Not the cat’s eye,” said Harry immediately. “The other one.”

“Square, plastic, and black? You got it,” said Hermione. “Let’s get her out here.” She pulled the lever.

Tilly appeared - small and slim, her long plain black hair framing her thin face and square black glasses. She was, as always at the beginning, totally without fashion and completely naked.

Mine walked over and handed her the jacket, though at this point she didn’t really need it. They were all girls. Mine sat back down as Tilly stood in their center.

“So - how is Tilly different from Harry?” Hermione asked the group. “Last one, girls. Let’s give her some personality.”

“Well, first, in order for Tilly to still be the Girl Who Lived, the prophecy would have to be changed to ‘she’ pronouns,” said Rukia. “Thus eliminating Neville from the race. After that I think everything would happen the same, though.”

“She would even be sent to the Dursleys, yes,” said Hermione. “Unless we believe Sirius was so much more protective of a little girl that he was willing to forego his temper and the vengeance of one best friend killed by another in order to be with her… And if he was raised alongside the Black sisters, Bellatrix included, I highly doubt that. Sirius was used to seeing strong women in his life. Jo herself has said he didn’t get married because he was too busy being a big rebel. She never said anything about misogyny.”

“Sirius always had a short and dramatic temper anyway,” Rukia pointed out. Harry might have said something, but Tilly just blinked blankly.

“So. The Dursleys. What would be different?” Hermione asked.

“Tilly would get nice but very feminine clothes,” said Rukia, “and proper girlish chores and a proper girlish place at dinner parties.” Rukia made a face. “If we thought Isshin was big on gender roles, take a look at Tilly’s relatives. That would make her a bit prissy but very polite.”

“You bring up a good point, though,” said Sakura, “which is that Tilly would fill the Dursleys’ perfect little boy and girl, white picket fence life better than Harry did. So would she be treated better?”

“They’re still afraid of her magic and they still hated her parents,” said Mine. “I’m voting no. But I don't think Dudley would be allowed to bully her and hit her - she might be allowed to make friends. She could be more self confident than Harry.”

“Also…” said Momoka, still cheerful and fascinated by this thought exercise, “the Dursleys would try very hard to repress her and mold her into perfection. Tilly would never go for that, but openly rebelling would incur horrific punishment. So she would have to learn to stay very reserved - and reserve can be both a good and bad trait - and meanwhile she would have to rebel in more secret ways.”

“By doing what?” Rukia asked, interested.

“She would have to find methods of creativity that got under the Dursleys’ radar. Sports, for example. Sports are arts, but the Dursleys wouldn’t see them that way. And Tilly is still light, fast, and quick with good reflexes and sharp eyes, right? So she could become a big tomboy and get really passionate and fiery about sports. Reserved, but fiery in that area. Mercilessness in physical activities and unending competitiveness aren’t always good.

“She also wouldn’t be barred from cooking and baking. But, typical Tilly, she would get creative in her baking and point out that dinner party guests love it. Precariously stacked layered cakes colored blue, covered in messy chocolate swirls, and flavored like tea. Tarts full of spices. Halloween meringue pies with pumpkin, dyed and swirled fantastical colors. After all, in baking, which everyone is supposed to enjoy, determined unusualness is not always a good thing either, no matter how good the food tastes.”

“The tomboy clothes would also be a way of getting back at the Dursleys,” said Rukia, catching on. “But she’d be so talented at speed, they couldn’t help but allow it. The Dursleys’ achilles heel is that they love looking good to the outside world.”

“She could also hide books from her relatives,” Sakura said brightly.

“Wouldn’t she become too much like me?” Hermione questioned.

“Not if she read contemporary fiction and was uninterested in nonfiction,” said Sakura readily. “Blue cake. That sounds a bit alien. What if she got into science fiction?”

“This is all adding up to her sounding a bit like a Ravenclaw,” said Hermione thoughtfully.

“Not a Slytherin?” Rukia questioned.

“Slytherins are more in your face about confrontation; they’re more vicious, forthright, sarcastic, power focused. Ravenclaws find creative ways around obstacles - they hide and trick, that’s the Ravenclaw way. And if Tilly is also a reserved reader and a creative who sometimes shows signs of the unusual… then she’s definitely a Ravenclaw.

“While I could be persuaded to join Ravenclaw on the Hogwarts Express - all I would have to do is ask the Hat, something I’m not afraid to do, unlike movie me - that also means the Weasleys wouldn’t play as big of a role… at least at first… but perhaps ever…” Hermione trailed off in interest.

“But she would have other Ravenclaw friends to make up for it,” Rukia pointed out.

“Of course,” said Hermione. “Good point. I would think this fem Harry would also be a bit more vicious with spells, a mixed trait, wouldn’t you agree?” They nodded. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Tilly - do you think you can try for a Happening?”

“I can try,” said Tilly willingly. She took a deep breath and spouted off. “I’m reserved and tricky, but a tomboy and vicious with sports and spells. I’m a Ravenclaw who loves creative baking, running based activities, and science fiction - especially aliens. I’m a bit stuck up, but very polite. I’m determined to be unusual and in a quiet way I’m extremely competitive. Nonfiction bores me. I’m good at surviving people like the Dursleys with some sanity intact, which is where my reserved trickiness stems from. I'm more self confident than Harry.

“Yes, I can see it now.” Her breath quickened with excitement, green eyes widening. “My wand core is a match for Lord Voldemort’s but the wand is made from black ebony instead of holly! I’m fascinated by any kind of moving artwork, from animation to magically animated paintings! I love playing video games almost as much as Dudley! I always buy concession snacks and shout at the referee during sports games! The only time I ever show open pride is when I score in a sports match or I’m complimented on one of my eccentric dinner party desserts! I’m kinder once you get to know me than most people give me credit for! I'm a great listener among my friends! I’m always wearing a checkered sweater, jeans, and a baseball cap - I almost never wear any other kind of outfit! I get crushes easily but they make me sullen and self conscious and angry, and I always try my hardest to hide them because secretly I’m shy! In spite of everything, my favorite holiday is Halloween!

“Of course I’m me! I’m Tilly Potter!”

And in a burst of light, Tilly stood there. She wore the checkered jacket, jeans, and baseball cap, her long straight black hair still framing her square black glasses. She stood simply, quiet and hard to read, hands at her sides, but very tough despite her tiny stature - as was her way.

Mine and Momoka stood and walked to stand on either side of Tilly. They modeled themselves from all angles in the middle of the room.

Rukia and Sakura were smiling. “And that,” said Hermione in satisfaction, “is how you do a gender-flip.”

-

“So what do we do with all this?” Rukia asked as everyone sat back in their circle of seats at the end, all six being girls this time. “I mean, where are these characters going?”

“She could write stories based on them,” said Hermione.

“Three separate stories?” said Rukia skeptically.

“Well just because you don’t have the work ethic -” Hermione began in a huff.

“This coming from the girl who nearly suffered an emotional breakdown in third year from trying to take too many classes at once.”

Hermione and Rukia were about to start arguing, but Sakura put her hands out. “Hey!” she snapped. “Idea time!

“She writes three days of the week - one day for each story. She only does as much as she feels she can do that day. And that gives her four days per week, writing free. She can write on her own time, but that keeps her working away at all three stories each week. 

“Each floating timeline, omniscient third person story is made part of a series and each is written in their own sweet time: 

“A rewriting of the Naruto manga with Momoka at the helm.” Momoka beamed and waved.

“A rewriting of the Bleach manga with Mine at the helm.” Sitting back, Mine popped her gum and offered a two-fingered salute.

“And a rewriting of the Harry Potter book series with Tilly at the helm.” Tilly folded her hands in front of her and nodded once, quiet.

“Sounds good to me,” Hermione admitted, and Rukia nodded in agreement.

All six girls looked to the camera from their circle of desk seats and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> I got this meta oneshot fem story idea from Hyaroo's "Hermione Granger's Guide to Gender-Flip Fanfiction." Go check it out. 
> 
> If you're interested in any of the stories mentioned, follow this series for updates.


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